Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to clouding agents which are added to soluble comestible mixes, and more particularly to a dry beverage mix wherein a non-oil clouding agent principally composed of a pectic agent is employed to induce opacity and augment mouthfeel of the reconstituted beverage mix.
A major problem encountered in the commercialization of a dry comestible or fruit-flavored beverage is to make said beverage duplicative of its natural-fruit counterpart. Furthermore, the beverage product must have the mouthfeel, opacity, flavor, and color properties, so that the imitation resembles the natural product. In order for the proposed beverage mix to be acceptable to the consumer, the beverage mix must easily and instantaneously go into solution and give the impression that a natural-looking product has been produced therefrom. Moreover, the perception that the beverage is natural must be sustained for a prolonged periods of refrigerator storage measured in days. The prolonged storage of the reconstituted beverage is oft times under adverse conditions of temperature and humidities, however, the integrity of the cloud must be sustained.
As to the prior art, in the area of clouding-agents, several attempts stand as the most relevant "art" references to the above.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,187,326, issued to Serafino et al. speaks to such a clouding agent. The invention relates to a clouding agent composed essentially of maltodextrin wherein small amounts of xanthan gum and titanium dioxide (TiO2) are suspended within said aqueous dextrinous solution. U.S. Pat. No. 3,023,106 issued to Common speaks to the use of a plastic fat composed essentially of a hydrogenated vegetable oil. U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,552 issued to Carlson uses a combination of a plastic fat and gum Arabic with titanium dioxide to obtain a powdered clouding agent.
In view of the fact that such methods as described heretofore are relatively expensive or are of a compromised efficiency due to their relative inability to suspend TiO2 in solution, there has been a long-standing need for a replacement for the above-referenced agents. Hence, it would be highly desirable to substitute another agent for the gum portion an agent wherein a proportionately greater amount of TiO.sub.2 could be substituted therefor.